


Life With Us

by theprincessespen



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Aunt Kara, Established Relationship, F/F, Family, Firsts, Fluff, Humor, Mommy Alex, Original Character(s), Parenthood, parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2020-05-31 12:58:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19426480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprincessespen/pseuds/theprincessespen
Summary: A series of one-shots highlighting little moments in the lives of Alex, Kelly and their daugther, Ava, who was introduced in Count to Ten.





	1. Firsts

**Author's Note:**

> Two things you should know before reading this first chapter:  
> 1\. Nervous wreck Alex is my favorite Alex.  
> 2\. I have this idea in my head that Kelly is pretty active on Instagram and has gained tons followers by posting lots of pictures of their little family.
> 
> That is all. Enjoy!

It’s four in the morning when Kelly rolls over and finds that her wife isn’t in bed.

She turns back over and lets out a frustrated sigh. One, because they agreed months ago that they would both take today off, and two, because Alex didn’t wake her before she left. Something she promised she’d always do.

She’s seconds away from falling back asleep when she hears noises coming from the kitchen.

 _Ava_. She sighs again, this time frustrated at how many times she's had to scold her daughter for going through the pantry at ridiculous hours of the night. She blames Kara for instilling in her the need to constantly eat.

Rolling her eyes, she gets out of bed and starts heading toward the kitchen. She’s prepared to have yet another conversation with Ava for what will hopefully be the last time. She opens her mouth to start a tired rant but stops when she sees the culprit.

“Alex?” She squints her eyes as they adjust to the bright lights. She looks around at the chaos. The kitchen island is a disaster and her wife is a frantic mess. “Honey. Why?” She groans, confused and way too sleepy to form a more articulate sentence.

“Oh, hey! Good morning,” Alex walks over and gives Kelly a quick kiss on the cheek before returning to what she was doing.

“Alex, it’s four in the morning. Why are you out of bed and destroying my kitchen?” She was also going to ask why she was so awake, but when she saw the pot of coffee across the room she had her answer.

“I’m making Ava’s lunch. I didn’t know if she’d want a grilled cheese sandwich or a turkey sandwich, so I made both. I mean, I would ask her but I don’t want to wake her and run the risk of her being cranky on her first day of school. I was going to make her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since that’s all she eats lately but it’ll be all soggy and gross by lunchtime.”

Kelly walks over to the anxious woman and grabs her hands, causing her to stop what she’s doing. “Hey, look at me.” Alex drops the sandwich bag and turns her body so they’re standing face to face. “I love you. I love you so much, but for the love of god, you have got to calm down.”

“I’m really nervous.” Alex admits, giving her wife the most pitiful look.

Kelly smiles and lets out a soft chuckle. “I know, babe.” She reaches up gives Alex a reassuring kiss on the lips. “Let’s get all this cleaned up and go back to bed.” Just as Alex is about to protest, Kelly continues. “I know you won’t be able to sleep, but you’re coming back to bed with me, and we’re going to stay in bed until it’s time to wake Ava up. Got it?”

“Fine.”

The mess gets cleaned up and Ava’s lunch is ready to go. Packed to the brim with more food than she’ll need, but it made Alex feel better about sending her daughter off to school for the first time. Kelly starts heading back to their bedroom when she notices Alex isn’t behind her. When she turns around, she finds the redhead about to pour herself another cup of coffee.

“Alex,” Kelly says in her most stern voice. “No.”

Alex curses under her breath and puts the coffee down. She pouts all the way to bed.

* * *

“Can I get a drumroll please?” Kara shouts from the top of the stairs. She came over early for breakfast and to make sure her niece got the proper sendoff before school. After they ate, Ava insisted that her aunt do her hair. The two had been upstairs for awhile, giving Kelly and Alex time to enjoy their breakfast together.

The two women downstairs laughed at Kara’s dramatics and then proceeded to make their best drumroll noise using the kitchen table.

“Ladies and gentlewomen,” she yells. “Introducing Ava Rae Danvers, world’s cutest tiny human and official kindergartener!”

They all cheer as Ava makes her way down the stairs with the biggest smile on her face. Alex gets out her phone to capture the moment. The little girl had on her overall shorts with a pink polka dotted shirt underneath, and her new pink slip-on vans to match. With her long curly hair braided back into two plait pigtails, Ava was ready for her very first day of school.

She hops down when she reaches the final step and runs over to her parents excitedly. Kelly stands, catching her daughter as she crashes into her arms and lifts her up onto her hip.

“Mama, do you like my hair?”

“I love your hair, bug,” she smiles and plants a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. Alex snaps a picture of the two before Kelly sets her back on the ground. “Go get your backpack so Mommy can take your picture.”

The five-year-old runs off to grab her things and Alex follows behind her.

“Thank you for all your help this morning, Kara.” Kelly says as her sister-in-law walks towards her. “I might need you again this afternoon to help distract your sister. She’s been a nervous wreck all day at it’s not even eight a.m. yet. I can only imagine what the rest of the day will be like.”

Kara couldn’t help but laugh. “I’d be more than happy to help.”

The two walk over to where Alex and Ava are standing by the door.

“Ok sweetie, smile big!” Alex beams, snapping another picture. She posts it to her Instagram story with five crying emojis as her caption. Behind her, Kelly takes a picture of Alex taking a picture. She posts her picture to her story as well. Her caption reads: _Ava’s first day of school! I am ok. Alex is not._

* * *

When they arrive at Ava’s school, the two women walk their daughter in together. There had been a minor hiccup when they first pulled in and Ava was told she couldn’t bring her koala in with her. The little girl was on the verge of tears, but Alex assured her that Cupcake would be waiting for her in the car when she got picked up.

Ava holds tight to both of her parents' hands as they enter the building. She was feeling a bit unsure until they got closer to her classroom and she recognized one of the girls from her dance class. After she runs off, Kelly looks at Alex and squeezes her hand.

“I told you she’d be ok.”

“Yeah,” Alex smiles back hesitantly.

A few seconds later, Ava’s teacher, Mrs Holbrook, makes her way over to them after talking to a few of the other parents and students who had just arrived.

“Alex, Kelly, hi!” She greets them with a warm smile and shakes their hands. “Good to see you both again. Ava seems to be doing well already.”

“She is,” Kelly responds. “She’s been so excited about her first day of school for months.”

“I am equally excited,” Mrs. Holbrook shares. “It looks like I’ve got a great group of students this year.”

Alex stands there, a bit distracted, while Kelly continues on with some small talk before the teacher excuses herself to finish preparing her classroom.

“Wait!” Alex calls out, causing the older woman to turn around and walk back over to them. “If you haven’t already assigned seats can you make sure Ava’s desk isn’t too close to the clock? I don’t know if you have the traditional analog clocks in your classroom or the digital ones since they can’t really tell time yet, but she hates the ticking noise they make. And if you have a fish tank in the room please don’t sit her too close to that either. The sound the filter makes really bothers her. She’s just really particular about certain noises and if she can’t focus she might have a meltdown and I really don’t want that to happen on her first day, and neither do you. Trust me.”

Kelly tries to interrupt her wife when she stops for a split second but the nervous rambling continues before she gets the chance to say anything.

“Oh, and um, if she cups her hands over her ears she’s not ignoring you. That’s just how she calms herself down if she’s feeling overwhelmed. She usually only needs about 15 seconds and then she’s good, but if it goes on for more than a few minutes that means she’s really upset and is probably on the verge of shutting down completely. If that’s ever the case please give me a call. I work just a few min-”

“Alex.” Kelly has to stop her or she’d go on for hours. She places a loving hand on her wife’s back and rubs gentle circles. “Honey, breathe.”

Alex stops and takes a deep breath. She places a hand over her heart when she realizes how quickly it’s beating.

“I’m sorry,” she says, looking at her wife and the teacher apologetically. “I just want to make sure she’s ok.”

Mrs. Holbrook notices the tears starting to form in Alex’s eyes and does her best to reassure her. “My assistant teacher and I both read over the notes from the meeting you and your wife had with the school counselor at orientation last month. We have plans in place for all of our students that will help us meet each of their needs in any situation. I promise you, Ava is in good hands.”

They finish up their conversation and a few minutes later Mrs. Holbrook makes an announcement for all the parents to say their goodbyes as the school day is about to begin. Alex squats down and opens her arms as Ava walks back over to them. She pulls her into a big hug and holds on tight for a little longer than she probably should.

“Alright ladybug,” she says as she lets go. “Knock ‘em dead.”

Alex stands up and the little girls moves over to give Kelly a hug. She wraps her tiny arms around her mother’s legs as she bends over to kiss her head. “I love you, baby. We’ll be back to get you as soon as school is over. Be good and have fun!”

Ava walks off as the assistant teacher calls all of the students into the room. “Bye Mommy! By Mama!”

They both wave back at her, then wait until she’s in the classroom before walking out of the school hand in hand.

The car ride home is quiet. They’re two minutes away from the house before Alex says anything.

“What time is school over?” She asks, looking over at Kelly in the driver’s seat.

“School ends at 2:45.”

“Oh my god!” Alex cries out. “I can’t do this.”

Kelly presses her lips together to keep from laughing at her wife. When they reach a red light, she gets out her phone and sends Kara an SOS text, hoping she will know how to get her wife through the next seven hours. When she looks back over at Alex, the redhead is staring out of the window with the most pathetic look on her face. Kelly chuckles quietly to herself before stealing a picture, feeling only slightly bad for finding humor in her wife’s misery.

When they get home, she posts the picture to her Instagram story. This time, the caption reads: _Update: She’s still not okay._


	2. Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex leaves.

Kelly can’t believe the note she finds waiting for her when she gets home from work late one Friday evening.

She reads it once, then twice. Then a third time, making sure she read it right the first two times.

> _Kelly,_
> 
> _I couldn’t take it anymore._
> 
> _I have Ava. I packed our things and left._
> 
> _I’m sorry._

Alex is halfway to Midvale when her phone rings. She didn’t have to look at the caller ID to see who it was. She knew the call was coming. It was just a matter of time. 

_“Are you kidding me? You just up and leave with my daughter because you can’t take it anymore?”_

“Our daughter. She’s our daughter, Kelly. And yes, that’s exactly what I did. I had to.”

_“No, Alex. You didn’t have to. You wanted to.”_

“Ok yes, I wanted to, but you can’t blame me.”

They both manage to maintain their composure, speaking to each other calmly.

_“So things get hard and you think the best thing to do is pack up and leave?”_

“Look, you’ve had a really crappy couple of weeks, Kelly. And in the past few days you’ve been more stressed than you’ve been in all the years that I’ve known you. You don’t see it, but it’s taking its toll on you, and it’s taking its toll on our family.” Alex hears Kelly let out a sad sigh on the other end of the phone. 

“You’ve been taking it out on me, and you nearly lost your shi-” Alex stops, remembering there was a six-year-old in the backseat. “You nearly lost it this morning all because Ava didn’t rinse out her cereal bowl before she put it in the sink. So yes, leaving was my only option.”

_“Alex, I-”_

“No, listen. I just think you need some time to unwind and destress, which is why Ava and I are headed to Midvale until Sunday night. So you get the entire house to yourself all weekend. No wife or daughter to clean up after or fuss at. I’ve already talked to Kara to make sure she doesn’t make any unannounced visits. I talked to Victoria to make sure no work emails or calls come through. We even cleaned the entire house to make sure you wouldn’t lift a finger. Didn’t we, bug?”

Ava is watching a movie on her ipad and gives a half attentive “yep” in response.

“I just want you to take care of yourself. You haven’t done much of that lately so I thought it was time you did.”

 _“I can’t say I disagree. I could definitely use a little me time. Alex, I’m sorry for letting all my stress get to you. You know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you or Ava.”_ The sincerity was clear with every word. _“Was the note really necessary though? I mean, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were actually leaving me.”_

“Oh, it was totally necessary. But don’t worry. If I ever leave you for real I promise I’ll call. Or at least send a text.” 

Kelly lets out a huff. _“Very funny.”_

“In all seriousness though, I expect you to do nothing but relax this weekend. We left a surprise for you on the table in the living room. Go look.”

Kelly walks into the living room and finds a large box sitting there on the table. She sits down on the couch and uses her shoulder to keep the phone on her ear as she opens it. Inside she finds a bottle of her favorite wine, a self-care book, bath salts, some essential oils, new silk pj’s, chocolate, a box of popcorn, a few movies, a coloring book and a drawing from her favorite little girl.

“ _Alex_ ,” she says in awe. _“This is all for me?”_

“All for you, baby. You deserve it.”

_“Thank you, honey. I promise I will try my best to relax and enjoy this quiet weekend. I don’t know what I’m gonna do without my girls for two whole days though. Can I talk to Ava?”_

“One sec.” Alex puts the phone on speaker and sets it down on the middle console. “Ava, Mama’s on the phone. Say hi.”

The little girl looks up from her iPad with a smile. “Hi!”

 _“Hi, sweetheart!”_ It warmed Alex’s heart hearing the happiness in her wife’s voice. _“Hey, I’m sorry for being so cranky this morning. I was just having a really bad day.”_

“It’s ok, Mama. Do you feel better?” Ava asked in the sweetest voice, genuinely concerned about her mother.

 _“I do. You and Mommy always help me feel better.”_ She pauses for a moment to lean back and get comfy on the couch and then continues. _“But next time Mommy tries to kidnap you I need you to put up more of a fight, ok?”_

“I wanted to wait for you to get home but she said that leaving a note would be more suh… sups... supsensful.”

“Suspenseful,” Alex whispers to Ava, helping her pronounce the word. 

“Yeah. Suspenseful.”

 _“It’s ok, bug. I know you tried.”_ Kelly laughs at the thought, then carries on with their conversation. _“Did you help pick out all these goodies for me?”_

“Yeah! The popcorn and the movies and the coloring book and the picture are from me.” Kelly had already gathered this much. “Mommy picked all the other stuff. Oh and she got you a microphone too but I think she hid it.”

 _“A microphone?”_ She asks back puzzled.

Even Alex has to stop and think for a minute to figure what the little girl is talking about. _A microphone?_ She asks herself. _I didn’t buy a..._ “Oh!” She blurts out. “Oh my god.”

Alex grabs the phone off of the console and takes it off speaker.

“ _Care to fill me in?_ ” Kelly asks, still very confused.

“Go into our bedroom and open your nightstand drawer.” She hears her wife get up from the couch, making her way down the hall and opening the door to their bedroom. When she makes it over to her nightstand she does as she’s told and opens the drawer. A few seconds later, Alex hears her gasp.

Before getting on the road, the redhead had snuck the toy in the drawer, not realizing that little eyes were watching.

“Did you find the microphone?”

 _“I did,”_ Kelly answers, holding a new Magic Wand vibrator in her hands. Alex swears she can hear her wife blushing through the phone.

“Since I’m not there to help you relax I figured a little… ‘singing’ might help.” 

They both laugh at the new euphemism they’d just accidentally created.

_“I don’t know, babe. It’s been awhile since I’ve sung without you.”_

At this point, Alex is starting to regret leaving for the weekend, but she knows her wife really needed this time alone. “Just go for it. I promise we’ll sing together as soon as I get back.” 

Suddenly, Ava chimes in from the backseat. “I wanna sing too!”

“Alright, time to change the subject.” Alex says as Kelly starts laughing in her ear. “Actually, we’re just a few minutes out, so we’ll let you get going so you can start all your relaxation fun.”

_“Well, thank you again for the goodies. They will all be put to good use, I promise. FaceTime me when you guys wake up so I don’t miss out on my Saturday morning snuggles, ok?”_

“You got it,” Alex smiles and holds up the phone, putting it back on speaker. “Ava, tell Mama bye.”

“Bye, Mama. Love you.” It comes out sounding like one word as the little girl starts to doze.

 _“Bye, ladybug,”_ Kelly smiles. _“Love you both.”_

Alex and Ava respond in unison.

“Ditto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please know that my stories will always always always have a happy ending. ;)


	3. Golden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one has been brewing in my mind for awhile and I just had to get it out.

It’s not often Alex gets to pick her daughter up from school, but on the off chance she gets to leave work early, she always looks forward to it. Every time, she’s greeted as if it’s been weeks since they’ve last seen each other even though it’s really only been hours. The excitement on Ava’s face when she spots her mother in the pick-up line and runs toward the car reminds her of why she wanted to become a mother in the first place. For little moments like this.

Today was a little different though. When Alex pulls up, she notices the six-year-old doesn’t come running towards the car the way she usually does. More often than not, she has to be told by one of the teachers to slow down. But today, she has much less pep in her step and walks to the car with her head hung low.

Whenever Ava has had a rough day, Alex or Kelly will get a phone call before the day is over, or her teacher will walk to the car with her and explain what’s going on. However, that wasn’t the case today and it left Alex a bit confused.

Ava gets in the car and buckles herself in without saying a word. Wanting to test the waters, Alex softly breaks the silence.

“Hey, bug.”

She gets nothing in return.

“How was school today?” A question she asks by default everyday. The response she usually gets is a detailed play by play of everything that happened at school. The little girl loves to talk, and her mothers love to listen.

But instead of the typical lengthy response, Ava just shrugs her shoulders and looks down at her lap.

“Did you have a rough day?”

Again, nothing.

“Ava, sweetheart, you know you can always tell me anything, right?”

The little girl nods. She shifts in her seat and rests her head against the car door. Ava looks heartbroken and it’s killing Alex not knowing why.

“Is there something you want to talk about?”

“I don’t wanna talk right now,” Ava responds in the softest voice.

“That’s fine. Whenever you’re ready, ok?”

The little girl nods again and closes her eyes. Alex hates to see her daughter like this, but she’s proud of her for verbalizing that she doesn’t want to talk. It had taken some time for them to get to that point after Ava’s first outburst at school earlier in the year. She had been upset about something and refused to speak to anyone who tried to get her to open up. After being asked for the hundredth time what was wrong, she finally broke and began lashing out at her teachers. After the incident, Kelly and Alex talked to her about communicating her feelings in order to hopefully avoid any future meltdowns. So hearing Ava say she wasn’t ready to talk let her know they were getting somewhere.

When they arrive home, Ava grabs a quick snack and then heads to her room. Still without saying a word. Thankfully, Alex had sent Kelly a warning text so she wouldn’t be surprised by their daughter’s lack of enthusiasm when she walked through the door.

* * *

A couple hours later, Kelly is in the kitchen making dinner when she notices how much time has gone by.

“Alex?” She calls over to her wife who is perched on the couch reading.

“Hm?” She half responds, continuing to read her book.

“I’m all for giving Ava her space but she hasn’t come out of her room for two hours now. Maybe try talking to her again?”

“She’s already made it clear she doesn’t want to talk. I checked on her a few minutes ago. She’s doing a puzzle and seems to be perfectly fine. I say we just let her be. She’ll have to come down for dinner soon anyway.”

“I hate when she shuts down like this, Alex.”

Hearing the worry in Kelly’s voice, Alex gets up and walks over to her.

“I know you do.” She stands behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist and planting a kiss on her neck. They stand like this for a moment before Alex speaks up again. “Why do you insist on me talking to her? Why don’t you give it a shot?”

Kelly turns in her wife’s arms so they’re standing face to face. “You’re much better with her when she’s in one of her moods. You have some sort of magic spark that I don’t have.”

“That’s not true at all. You just tend to overanalyze and do that psychobabble thing and I think it confuses her.”

“I can’t turn it off sometimes. As much as I wish I could.”

“I know. I love that about you though. It’s adorable.” Alex smiles and leans in for a slow kiss. “The psychobabble works great on me, just not so much on our kindergartener.”

The comment earns a laugh from the darker woman.

“You just have to remember you’re her mother, not her therapist,” Alex reminds her.

“Yes, you’re right.”

“I always am.” Alex goes in for another kiss but Kelly jokingly pushes her face away.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Kelly chuckles. “Now get out of my kitchen so I can finish cooking.”

Alex mocks her wife, repeating her words in an obnoxious voice while walking back over to the couch.

Kelly rolls her eyes and laughs in return as she walks over to the trashcan to discard a few veggie scraps. She steps on the bin to open it and when she does, something catches her eye. She rids her hands of the vegetables and grabs the object out of the trash. It’s only a matter of seconds before she puts two and two together and realizes why Ava might be upset.

“Alex, look.”

When Alex looks over at her, Kelly is holding up one of Ava’s dolls by the arm.

The redhead squints her eyes in confusion. “Was that in the trash? Didn’t Kara just buy her that?”

Kelly nods and walks over to the sink to wash the doll off.

“Why would she throw it away?” Alex asks, still confused.

Kelly comes over and sits on the couch. She places a hand on Alex’s knee and explains to her what she thinks might be going on.

“We have to talk to her, Alex. Together.”

When they walk into her room, Ava is laying on the floor coloring and humming along to a tune inside her head. Perfectly content in her own little world.

When she spots her parents she pauses. “Am I in trouble?”

Alex and Kelly join her on the floor.

“No, you’re not in trouble, sweetie,” Kelly reassures her. She crosses her legs and taps the spot on the floor in between her and Alex. “We just want to talk to you about something. Come here.”

Ava follows suit and moves over to sit in between them.

“Sweetheart, why was Ariel in the trash can?” Kelly wastes no time getting to the point.

A few weeks prior, Kara had taken her niece to the toy store after merchandise for the remake of The Little Mermaid hit the market. Ava had been ecstatic about the movie from the moment she saw the first trailer. Kelly was equally excited because she knew what having this kind of representation meant for both her and her biracial daughter.

After hearing her mother’s question, Ava gazes down at the ground.

“You’re not in trouble,” Alex reiterates. “And we’re not upset with you. We’re just trying to understand.”

Ava looks up with watery eyes. “I don’t want her anymore. She’s ugly.”

The last two words were hardly audible but Kelly knew exactly what she said. Hearing those words only confirmed her thoughts from earlier. “What makes you say that?”

“That’s what Cassie and Elena said. We were playing mermaids at recess and they said mermaids can’t be black. And they kept calling my doll ugly because of her skin.”

In that moment, both Kelly and Alex’s hearts shatter.

Alex knew Kelly would probably be right when she explained what she thought might be going on earlier. But still, it didn’t make hearing it any easier. She wanted to be angry at Ava’s friends for saying those awful things but she knew the kids weren’t really at fault here. Their parents were the only ones to blame for this learned hatred.

Not knowing what to say, Alex let Kelly steer the conversation. It made sense for that to happen anyway. Especially considering Kelly had a similar conversation with her grandmother after expressing that she wished she wasn’t black way back when she was a little girl.

They end up having a pretty lengthy but meaningful discussion. Instead of focusing so much on teaching Ava about racism, their main focus was helping her see the beauty in all races and ethnicities, including her own.

Just when they think they’re finished, Ava asks a question that leads to another conversation. One that was probably long overdue but needed to be had.

“What am I?” The little girl asks. A question that could have a million different answers, but they knew exactly what she meant.

“You’re mixed,” Kelly informs her. “Or biracial. It means you’re made up of two different races.”

“So some of me is brown like you and some of me is white like Mommy?”

“That’s right,” Kelly nods her head. She could go into more detail about her daughter’s biological parents but that conversation could wait for another day. “But just because you’re mixed with two things doesn’t make you any less of one or the other.”

The explanation earns her a confused look from Ava, so Alex chimes in. “If you were mixed with red and blue, what color would you be?”

“Purple?”

“Right. But even though you might look purple doesn’t mean you’re not still red and blue on the inside. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, but I’m not purple. I’m- I’m kinda…” Ava stops for a moment and holds her hands up in front of her face. She examines both of them closely and then looks at her arms. “I think I’m golden.”

“You know what? You are golden. Inside and out,” Alex states, leaning over to kiss her daughter’s forehead.

“But even if you were purple,” Kelly adds, “we wouldn’t love you any less. Because it’s not about what’s on the outside. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

“That’s right. And we know people can’t be purple, but you know who can?” Alex asks with a knowing grin on her face.

Ava scrunches up her face as she thinks. “Who?”

“Mermaids!” Alex exclaims. “ You know why?”

“Because mermaids… are fish, and fish come in all sorts of colors. Including purple.” She was about to say it was because they aren’t real. But they weren’t ready to have that conversation yet, so this explanation would have to do.

“So you tell Cassie and Elena that Ariel can be whatever color she wants to be. Tell ‘em they can shove it too.”

“Alex!” Kelly responds, reaching over to slap her wife. “Ava, please do not ever repeat that.”

Much to Kelly’s disappointment, she repeats those exact words the very next day. When the teacher calls home, she is totally embarrassed and ensures her that it won’t happen again.

Alex, on the other hand, couldn’t be more proud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by a conversation I had with my niece not long ago. She called herself golden and it absolutely melted my heart. I just had to do something with it. 
> 
> And as someone who had very little representation growing up I’m stoked for The Little Mermaid remake :)
> 
> Anyway, I hope I didn’t disappoint with this one. I would love to hear your honest thoughts.


	4. News

It’s been 518 days since they first started trying.

They talked about adopting again, but Alex had this strong desire to carry a child that she just couldn’t shake, so they decided to give IVF a try. The process was long and taxing. Not to mention expensive, but it was an investment they were more than willing to make.

After four failed attempts however, they found out that Alex wasn’t producing enough eggs to get pregnant. Their doctor explained that her follicle-stimulating hormone levels were rather high, causing the treatments to be unsuccessful. The only thing that could be done about this was changing her fertility medication, but even then, the chances of her being able to conceive were very low.

With that, they decided to put having another child on hold. Alex took the news pretty hard, so they didn’t bring the subject up again until a few months later. Kelly wanted to bring it up sooner, but Alex was still hurting. She knew she needed to wait until the scars from their first attempt had faded.

 _“What if I try?”_ She’d asked one night as she crawled into bed next to her wife.

_“Try what?” Alex scooted closer to Kelly as they sat side by side against the headboard._

_“IVF. I’ve been really thinking about it, Alex.” Kelly looked down at her lap and nervously played with her hands, unsure of how Alex would react. “We both want another child and I don’t want to give up on that just because it didn’t go how we wanted it to the last time. And I know getting pregnant has been a dream of yours, so if you’re not ok with it, I totally understand. I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking that dream away from you by suggesting that I be the one to carry our baby. I just-”_

_“Hey,” Alex whispered, lifting her wife’s chin with her hand. “Look at me.”_

_When their eyes met, a tear escaped down Kelly’s cheek. Alex gently wiped it away before planting a soft kiss on her lips._

_“I know getting pregnant was something that I wanted, but to have you carry our child? Babe, I would be over the moon. It doesn’t matter who it is as long as it means we get to keep building our family together.”_

It’s been 388 days since they decided to try again.

Unfortunately, the results this time around hadn’t been much different than the first time. Once again, they had gone through multiple failed attempts. The only difference is that the doctor assured them that Kelly’s eggs were viable, it was just going to take some time.

So they kept trying, but the tests continued to come back negative. Slowly but surely, the process began taking its toll on them mentally, physically and emotionally. Getting pregnant had been their main focus for so long that other parts of their lives had unintentionally taken a backseat. Ava was too young to understand what was going on and the last thing they wanted was to hurt her in the process. So they agreed to not give up, but to put the idea on hold for a little while.

It’s been 178 days since that decision was made.

That many days since Kelly has been completely honest with her wife, but that ended today.

When Alex got home from work, the silence was the first thing she noticed. They may only be a family of three, but their daughter is a Danvers through and through. She knows how to fill a room with her presence.

Kelly was sitting on the couch resting her eyes when she heard the redhead walk in.

“Where are those two curly-haired creatures that always attack me when I walk in the door?” Alex asked looking around the house.

“They’re with your sister. She came by to drop off that dress of yours she borrowed last week.” Kelly yawned, sitting up to stretch her back. “Ava wanted to take George for a walk but I was way too tired, so she offered to take them.”

“Oh, ok.” Alex called out from behind the refrigerator door. She grabbed a cold beer and then walked toward the couch. “Are you ok?”

“Yes and no,” Kelly sighed, hesitating for a moment before speaking again. “I need to talk to you.”

Alex walked around the couch and set her drink down on the table before sitting down. The darker woman shifted so she was sitting sideways, facing her wife.

“I’m all ears.”

Kelly took a deep breath before she opened her mouth to speak. “When we decided to stop the IVF treatments it was because I wanted to take a break from it, and you agreed and respected my decision even though it wasn’t what you wanted.”

Alex wasn’t sure where the conversation was going, so she sat and waited for Kelly to continue.

“I haven’t been honest with you, Alex.” Kelly’s voice started to shake as she was on the verge of tears. “I never wanted to stop trying.”

Alex leaned forward and grabbed Kelly’s hand. “Ok, then we’ll keep trying.”

“No. Babe, that’s not what I mean,” Kelly sniffed. “I’ve been lying to you.”

Saying those words out loud caused her to cry even more. She dropped her head and wiped her tears away, trying her best to pull it together long enough to get through the conversation.

“I started treatments again about a month after I told you I wanted to take a break.”

“Kelly, why didn’t you tell me?” Alex asked, not out of anger, just trying to understand.

“Because seeing that look on your face every time the pregnancy tests came back negative broke my heart every time. I hated having to do that to you.”

“Honey, you can’t put that on yourself. It wasn’t your fault.” Alex reached up and wiped a few stray tears from the brunette’s face with her thumb.

“I know, I just hated putting you through that. So I figured you wouldn’t get hurt if you didn’t know.”

“So you’ve been going to the doctor and getting treatments for the past six months?”

Kelly responded with a nod.

“And you’re telling me now because you feel guilty for keeping it from me?”

Kelly nodded again. “Are you upset with me?”

“No. I mean, I wish I had known. I would’ve been able to help you with all the hormone shots. I know it’s not easy having to do it by yourself. And I would’ve been a lot more understanding on those days you were extremely moody if I had known what was really going on. But I’m not upset, I promise.”

The darker woman breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Ok, good. Because that’s not the only thing.”

Alex looked at her with a furrowed brow. She sat there confused, until Kelly reached in her back pocket and pulled out a pregnancy test.

Alex let out a giant gasp and her hand shot up to cover her open mouth. Her entire body froze and her eyes went big, instantly filling with tears. Unable to contain her emotions, she began to cry, covering her face with both of her hands.

After a few seconds, Kelly reached out to pull her wife’s hands from her face. When Alex looked up at her, Kelly gave her a wide smile and leaned forward for a kiss.

“Baby,” Kelly said through her own tears. “We’re having a baby.”


	5. Protected

“Alright, bug. Just one more stop then we can go home.”

The little girl crossed her arms in response and let out a dramatic sigh.

“I thought we were done with errands,” Ava pouted.

“It’ll be quick, I promise. I just need to drop a few things off at my office,” Kelly explained. “And if you help, we’ll get done even quicker.”

A few minutes later, Kelly parked her car in front of Obsidian Tech and Ava helped her carry a few boxes and bags inside.

Ava walked a few feet in front of her mother, eager to see her new office.

“This one?” The five year old asked every time she stopped in front of an office door. Kelly continued to shake her head until they finally reached the one that belonged to her.

When Kelly opened the door to her new office, the first thing she noticed was the massive Edible Arrangement bouquet sitting on her desk.

 _Alex_. She thought to herself as a wide smile spread across her face. With her official first day being tomorrow, her wife had asked her what they should do to celebrate. Kelly told her not to make a big deal about it, so this must’ve been Alex’s idea of a subtle celebration. 

As she got closer though, she noticed the array of different fruits, including blueberries.

When she realized it couldn’t possibly be from her wife, she opened the card attached to the box to see who it was from.

 _Kelly,_  
_Welcome to the team!_  
_We are so happy to have you!_  
_-Andrea_

The brunette placed the card on her desk and turned around to grab her phone out of her purse. Just as she started to type out a thank you text to send to Andrea, the sound of something falling on the ground grabbed her attention.

She looked up from her phone, expecting to see something broken but didn’t see any damage done. She scanned the room carefully then quickly realized the bouquet of fruit was no longer on her desk.

“Oh- Ava!”

The little girl had pushed the arrangement off her mother’s desk and straight into the trash can.

“Sweetie, why did you do that?” Kelly asked frantically, walking over to see if the fruit was salvageable.

“There was blueberries in there. You can’t have blueberries!”

“I know, but we could’ve just thrown the blueberries out and taken the rest home. That was a gift, Ava.”

Not wanting anyone to see her welcome gift in the trash, Kelly reached down and pulled it out. Unfortunately for her, it was in that exact moment that Andrea happened to walk in.

Kelly placed the dismantled bouquet on her desk as Ava ran over to hide behind her mother’s legs.

“Not a fan of fresh fruit dipped in chocolate I take it?” Andrea asked.

“Oh, I- no! It’s not that at all. I love fruit, just not blueberries. I’m highly allergic actually.” The brunette placed a soothing hand on her daughter’s head as the little girl continued to hide her face between Kelly’s legs. “Ava noticed them and thought she’d protect me by throwing the entire thing away. I’m so sorry.”

“No, please, don't be sorry. I apologize for not knowing.” Andrea shifted so she could see the little person attempting to hide from her, then knelt down so they were at eye level. “You must be the famous Ava your mother always talks about.”

Ava gripped the bottom of Kelly’s blazer a little tighter as she cautiously peeked her head around to get a better look at the person trying to speak to her.

“Who are you?” She asked quietly.

“My name is Andrea. I’m your mommy’s new boss,” she explained, holding out a hand for the little girl to shake. “It’s very nice to meet you, Ava.”

Before reaching out her hand, Ava looked up at her mother as if asking for permission. Kelly nodded her head, telling her it was ok and the two shook hands.

“That’s not Mommy. That’s Mama.” Ava corrected her as she stepped out from behind Kelly a little more, keeping a tight grip on her jacket. “Mommy fights bad guys and helps keep everybody safe.”

“Oh, I see,” Andrea commented. “She must be a police officer.”

“FBI,” Kelly informed her.

“Oh, wow. That’s pretty impressive,” she replied, standing up and straightening out her skirt. “Hopefully I’ll get to meet her s-”

“Are you a bad guy?” Ava asked, cutting her off. The look on her face looked all too much like Director Danvers mid interrogation.

“Well, I certainly hope not,” the woman answered.

“I hope not too,” Ava told her, holding an intense glare. “Because if you are, Mommy will hurt you.”

Ava left it at that and skipped away to grab her toy she left sitting on the desk.

“I must say, I don’t think I’ve ever been threatened by someone so small,” Andrea laughed.

“I’m so sorry. It takes her a while to warm up to new people,” Kelly said with the most apologetic look on her face. “And she’s very protective of Alex and I.”

“No apologies necessary.” Andrea reached out and placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “I will leave you to it. I’ll see you tomorrow, Kelly.”

Kelly and Ava headed home shortly after, and when they arrived, Alex was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels, trying to find something to watch. She turned her head when she heard two pairs of feet approaching her.

“Hi, Mommy!”

“Hey! Where have you two been?” Alex asked as Kelly made her way around the couch.

“We had to stop by my office after we ran our errands,” the darker woman explained, taking a seat next to her wife.

“Ah, gotcha. George and I were starting to think we got dumped.”

As if on queue, the little dog barked and Ava ran over to play with him.

“Never,” Kelly smiled, placing a kiss on her favorite lips. “Hi, honey.”

They sat there quietly for a few minutes, enjoying each other's warmth and watching their daughter roll around on the floor with George. Kelly draped her legs over the pair of legs next to hers and snuggled in closer as she told her wife all about her day. Alex told Kelly about her eventful day in return, then called out to her daughter.

“What did you think of Mama’s new job, Ava?”

“I don’t like it,” she stated matter-of-factly. “It’s too white. It made my eyes hurt. And the lady at the front desk didn’t give me any candy when I walked in.”

Kelly laughed as Alex nodded, humming in response. “Very legitimate reasons if you ask me.”

“And I don’t like Mama’s new boss either. She tried to kill her!”

The redhead raised a worried eyebrow and looked over at her wife, waiting for her to explain.

“She got me an Edible Arrangement that had blueberries in it. So Ava asked if she was a bad guy, then proceeded to tell her you’d hurt her if she was.”

“Atta girl!” The comment earned Alex a light smack on the arm. “I mean- that wasn’t very nice, Ava.”

“I wasn’t trying to be mean! I just don’t want her to hurt you, Mama.” Ava explained, continuing to play around with the dog.

“I know, sweetie,” Kelly told her daughter, then turned her head to look at Alex. “She definitely gets it honest. It reminded me of that time you got kicked out of Noonan’s.”

Kelly thought back on that day. She remembered it all too well. It wasn’t long after Alex had learned about all of Kelly’s allergies. They had just ordered a couple of pastries and stood at the counter waiting patiently. The redhead was instantly on high alert the second she noticed that the barista had grabbed Kelly’s croissant with the same utensil he used to grab another customer’s blueberry muffin.

The situation resulted in Alex telling the barista she would “end him” and “make him pay” if he ever caused her girlfriend any harm. She all but climbed over the counter while telling him off, causing one of the security guards to come over and walk her out.

“I was so upset with you that day,” the brunette shook her head, remembering how embarrassed she was. “We had to avoid Noonan’s for months!”

“I have no regrets. I taught that kid a serious lesson.” Alex stated unapologetically. “Cross-contamination is no joke. I’m not letting you die on my watch, babe.”

“You and Ava both,” Kelly smiled.

“For as long as we live, we will always protect you from all the blueberries in the world.”

“And bees, and cats, and hazelnuts!” Ava added.

“And bees,” Alex repeated, leaning in to place a loving kiss on Kelly’s lips. “And cats.” Another kiss. “And hazelnuts.” One more kiss.

“I am one lucky girl.”


	6. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex, Kelly and Ava plan their Halloween costumes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My last minute contribution to Dansen Halloween challenge. This just might be my favorite chapter yet :)

“Oh my god!”

The sudden outburst causes Kelly to jump and nearly fall off of her seat at the kitchen island.

“It’s October first!” Alex exclaims as if she had just made a groundbreaking discovery. “I just realized.”

“And?”

“You banned me from talking about Halloween until October first, remember?” she reminds Kelly as she puts the last of the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and walks closer to the island. “We can plan our costumes now!”

“Halloween is still thirty days away, honey. We have plenty of time.”

“Babe, we have this conversation every year.” Alex says, tossing her head back in exasperation. Kelly wants to tell her she’s being dramatic, but she holds her tongue. “Creative family costumes take time. We have to figure out what we’re going to be, which takes forever because you never like my ideas. Then we have to leave enough time to make our costumes or order them if we need to. Not to mention we need three different costumes this year, which calls for three times as much planning.”

Alex is talking so fast that by the time she finishes she’s almost out of breath.

“First of all, calm down.” Kelly chuckles, taking a sip from her wine glass. “And second, why do we need three costumes?”

“One for Kara’s party, one for the fall festival at Ava’s school, and another one for trick-or-treating,” the redhead answers as she makes her way around the island and sits down on the stool next to Kelly.

“Why don’t we wear the same costumes for all of those and call it a day?”

“What? No!” Alex huffs. “No one wants to wear the same costume three times. Plus there’s a costume contest at Kara’s party, so whatever we wear for that has to be super creative.”

Kelly rolls her eyes and takes another sip from her glass. “So what are you thinking? I’m sure you already have a list of ideas.”

Alex smirks and reaches into her pocket, pulling out her phone. Just as her wife suspected, she had been jotting down all the costume ideas that came to her mind over the past few weeks. She starts to hand the phone over then pulls it back to her so she can make a quick comment.

“Before I show you, you have to promise to keep an open mind.”

“I promise to keep an open mind. Let’s see,” Kelly smiles as she grabs the phone.

Alex watches the darker woman’s face as she scrolls through the list of costume ideas for their little family of three, eager to know which ones she approves of.

“So? Which ones do you like?” Alex asks as soon as Kelly stops scrolling.

“Here’s my top three,” the brunette starts, turning her body more toward the woman next to her. “My first choice would be Mike, Sully and Boo. Second is Tigger, Pooh and Piglet, but only if I get to be Pooh. And my third choice is Minnie, Mickey and Pluto.”

“How did the rock, paper, scissors idea not make the cut? That would surely win a costume contest.”

“Why would I want to be any one of those things?”

“Because it’s cute and funny!” Alex waits for Kelly to agree with her, but instead, she gets nothing but a blank stare.

“It’s corny. But you know what would make it funny?” Kelly scoots closer, placing a teasing hand on her wife’s thigh.

“What’s that?” The redhead asks back.

Kelly leans far enough forward so that her mouth is inches away from the other woman’s face. “If we were both scissors,” she whispers.

“Oh my god. Alright,” Alex laughs, sliding Kelly’s glass out of her reach. “No more wine for you.”

“Grape juice,” the woman corrects her. “I just put it in a wine glass hoping it would have the same effect.”

“Ah, so it’s the raging hormones that have got you all frisky. Not wine.” Alex jokes. “Noted.”

Kelly bites her lip and kisses Alex on the lips before leaning back again.

“My idea sounds like more of a costume contest winner than rock, paper, scissors,” the smaller woman argues.

“I love you, but absolutely not.” Alex says, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t be able to look my mother in the eyes. Or Kara. Or, well, anyone for that matter.”

Kelly giggles at the thought. “Fair enough. We’ll have to keep brainstorming then,” she says before adding another thought. “You know, I’m really not the one you should be seeking costume approval from. We both know Ava is going to be the one to have the final say.”

“Well, we need three different costumes for three different nights,” Alex tells her. “So we can all choose our favorite costume ideas and pick one for each night.”

“Sounds like a fair compromise to me,” Kelly shrugs. “As long as your pick isn’t rock, paper, scissors.”

“Oh, come on!”

* * *

Over the course of the next few weeks, the pair continues to throw costume ideas around. Unsurprisingly, Kelly was the first member of the family to decide on her costumes of choice for the three of them. Sticking to her first pick, she decided to go with the Monsters Inc. idea for the fall festival at Ava’s school. She chose to be Mike, leaving Alex to dress up as Sully and Ava as Boo.

Not long after that, they decide on their next costume.

Alex, Kelly and Ava are all sitting on the couch watching Hocus Pocus when a commercial for Frozen Two plays.

“Can I be a princess for Halloween?” The little girl asks softly, looking up at Alex from her spot on her lap.

“Sure, bug.” Alex smiles, kissing the top of her daughter’s head. “You can be whatever you want.”

“I wanna be a princess.”

“Are you sure?” Kelly asks, placing her elbow on the back of the couch and resting her head in her hand. “Because yesterday you said you wanted to be Dreamer.”

Then Alex adds, “And the day before that you wanted to be a ninja.”

“I changed my mind. I wanna be Princess Jasmine!”

Kelly raised an eyebrow at her daughter’s enthusiasm. “Is that your final decision? Because once I buy your costume you’re stuck with that. We will not have a repeat of last year.”

The six year old nodded confidently in response.

“Alright then, Princess Jasmine it is.” Alex affirms. “You gotta pick our costumes too though. These will be the ones we wear for trick-or-treating.”

“Mommy, you can be Aladdin!”

“I’m ok with that,” Alex nods, then looks over at Kelly. “As long as you’re Ab-”

“If you’re about to suggest that I dress up as the monkey you can sleep on the couch tonight.” Kelly tells her, pointing a stern finger in her wife’s face.

“But you’d be so cute in that little hat!” Alex laughs for a second then stops when she sees the look on her wife’s face. “Or not. Genie?”

“I’ll gladly be the genie,” Kelly smiles.

With their second set of costumes finalized, they need just one more to be all set for their Halloween festivities.

Kelly is sitting in bed one night scrolling through Pinterest on her laptop when she gets an idea for their third and final costume.

“Babe, come here. I have an idea.”

Alex finishes changing out of her work attire and crawls in bed next to her wife, snuggling up next to her.

“What if we use our costumes for Kara’s party to tell everyone?” Kelly suggests.

Alex leans back a little to get a better view of the darker woman’s face. “You’d want to do that?” She asks. “I thought you wanted to wait another week or so. Just to rule out any chances of-”

“I know,” Kelly stops her. “But I’m ready to tell them if you are. I’m getting more and more anxious the longer we wait. I’d feel better if everyone just knew already. Plus it would be the perfect time. Everyone we planned on telling will already be there.”

“Okay, but only if you’re sure.”

“I’m positive, Alex. I know how badly you’ve been wanting to tell everyone.”

“Then we’ll tell them at the party.” Alex replies with a giant grin on her face. She leans in and plants a slow kiss on Kelly’s lips. They part for a brief second before Alex moves back in to kiss her cheek. She had just started to trail her way down her wife’s neck when Kelly drew her attention to her laptop.

“Ok, so look. I’ve already pinned a bunch of ideas. You just need to pick one.” She hands the laptop over.

“I have to pick?” Alex asks.

“Well, yeah. Ava and I already have ours picked. You still have to decide what we’re wearing to the party.”

“Oh, right!” She grabs the laptop from Kelly and scrolls through the photos. She comments on each of the pictures, disapproving of most of them until she finds one she really likes. “That’s it. That’s the one. You think they’d get it?”

“I’d be terribly concerned if they didn’t.” Kelly laughs.

“Well we’re totally doing that one.”

Their costumes for Kara’s Halloween party required quite a bit of creativity and improvisation in order to make it resemble the family they saw on Pinterest, but in the end they make it work.

When they get to the party, Lena opens the door and raises an eyebrow after taking in their costumes.

“MC Hammer?” She questions, looking at Ava.

The little girl is dressed in metallic gold harem pants with a gold jacket to match. Her outfit is topped off with a pair of black shades and few gold chains.

“No! I’m Vanilla Ice!” The little girl exclaims. She doesn’t have the slightest clue who that is, but her mothers were sure to remind her of who she was the entire ride there.

“And you are?” Kelly asks, raising an eyebrow at Lena’s outfit.

“Shego.” She’s met with confused stares before adding, “You know? From Kim Possible?”

“Ahhh,” the two women reply in unison.

When they walk into the kitchen they find Lena’s other half wearing green cargo pants and a black crop top. Her hair has been colored an obnoxious shade of orange for the night. James stands next to her in his Guardian suit, not having the time or interest to put any effort into an actual costume. Next to him stands J’onn dressed as some famous alien no one seems to know but him. On the other side of the kitchen are Brainy and Nia, dressed as Morticia and Gomez Addams.

Thankfully they’ve all arrived pretty early, so the guests Alex and Kelly are a little less familiar with have yet to arrive.

“You’re here!” Kara yells when she sees them make their way in. She looks the three of them up and down, analyzing their costumes. “MC Hammer and… two bags of ice?”

Ava runs up to her aunt, who catches the little girl with ease and rests her on her hip.

“I’m Vanilla Ice,” she explains for a second time.

“Ohhhh, I get it. Ice Ice Baby?” Kara responds, and the two women nod. “Woulda made more sense if Ava was a baby.”

“Well, that would’ve been redundant,” Kelly tells her. “The spot had already been filled.”

Lena is the first to figure it out, and when she does, she covers her mouth in shock from where she stands behind Kara. Nia and James are next to put two and two together, but they don’t say anything. Alex is certain J’onn knew before they had even arrived, given his psychic abilities, but he too says nothing. Brainy notices the looks on their faces and looks at Nia to help him understand what’s happening. She whispers in his ear, then places a finger over her lips, telling him to stay quiet.

All eyes are on Kara as they wait for her to figure out what’s going on.

“Ok, why’s everyone staring at me like that?”

Alex laughs at how oblivious her sister is, then proceeds to break it down for her.

“Ice,” she says pointing to herself. “Ice,” she repeats, but this time she points at Kelly.

“Yeah, you’re Ice Ice Baby.” The blonde reiterates.

Alex raises her hand and places it on Kelly’s stomach. “Baby.”

Kelly then goes through the same motions her wife just had, pointing to Alex, then to herself, then to the hand resting on her stomach. “Ice. Ice. Baby.”

Kara’s jaw drops as soon as she makes the connection. Her girlfriend takes Ava from her, knowing what’s to come after the initial shock wears off.

Kara points at Kelly as her jaw still hangs. “Baby?”

Alex and Kelly both nod, grinning from ear to ear. Within seconds, Kara is running toward them, engulfing them in a giant hug. She starts to cry and they do too.

It’s not long before the others make their way over, congratulating them and showering them with hugs and all the love in the world, much like they will when baby Danvers makes its entrance.

A few moments later, Eliza arrives in her Wonder Woman costume. She notices all the excitement in the room as she approaches the group.

“What did I miss?” She asks.

Kara is the first, and loudest, to respond.

“We’re having a baby!”


	7. Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex gets an unexpected call while at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is dedicated to Nayanna_Rivergron.
> 
> It has a happy ending, I swear.

Alex was right in the middle of an intense conversation one evening when her phone started to ring.

She had put it on do not disturb mode four hours ago when she realized what a busy and late night it was going to be. Between murderous aliens and the discovery of a new lethal weapon, she needed to be able to put all of her focus on her job.

So when she felt the device buzzing in her pocket, she knew it was probably important. After Kelly had scolded her for not answering when she was supposed to take Ava to dance class, she changed her settings to make sure her wife could always get through to her, even when she preferred not to be disturbed.

She contemplated letting it go to voicemail but figured it wouldn’t be worth the backlash from the person whose name appeared on the screen. So she walked around the corner to the nearest empty hallway and answered her phone.

“Hello?”

She answered with a tone much sharper than usual. Not on purpose, just slightly annoyed that she had to step away from what she was working on. But she knew that not answering the phone wasn’t an option.

“ _Mommy_?”

When Alex heard the small voice on the other end she knew what was happening. Kelly was using their six-year-old to guilt trip her into coming home. Something that has happened many times before.

“Hey, bug.” Alex’s tone softened almost immediately. “Everything ok?”

“ _No. Mama is crying_.” Ava informed her, on the verge of tears herself.

The annoyed feeling she’d felt seconds ago was replaced with worry. Her mind instantly went to a place she wished it would never go.

“Why is she crying? Is she hurt? Can you tell me what happened?”

The questions come out much quicker than she meant for them to. So she stopped and took a deep breath as she paced the hallway.

When she heard nothing but her daughter’s cries in response to her questions, she realized the little girl was probably even more scared than she was.

“Hey, Ava?” She spoke up after a few deep breaths. “Everything is going to be ok. I'll be there soon. Just stay on the phone with me, ok?”

Ava sniffed and whispered a response through her tears. “ _Ok_.”

Alex muted the phone as she took off down the hall and around the corner.

“Supergirl!” She called out to her sister. She waited until Kara was inches away before she said anything else. “I need you to fly me home.”

“Alex, is everything-”

“Now, Kara.”

Hearing the urgency in her sister’s voice, the blonde wrapped a tight arm around Alex and took off without asking anymore questions.

Alex unmuted the phone to let her daughter know she’d be there soon and got another muffled “ok” in response.

They landed on the back porch less than a minute later. Alex hoped that her ride home went unnoticed by the neighbors, but at this point that was the least of her worries.

The redhead pulled out her keys the second her feet hit the ground and hustled to the door. She was inside before Kara got the chance to ask if she should stay, so waited outside just incase.

As soon as Alex entered the house, she scanned the room and found her daughter sitting at the bottom of the staircase. Her koala plush held tight in one arm and other draped over George. The sweet dog was standing guard next to his tiny owner and barked when he saw Alex quickly approaching.

“Mommy,” the little girl cried out. She dropped her stuffed animal and reached out for her mother. She stood up and Kelly’s phone slid off of her lap. Alex lifted her daughter into her arms and held on tight, rubbing soothing circles on her back. Ava buried her face into her mother’s neck as she continued to cry.

“It’s ok, bug.” Alex kissed her daughter’s wet cheek. “I’m here. I’m here.”

The agent scanned the room again as she continued to rub her daughter’s back and whisper words of reassurance into her ear. Looking between the living room and the kitchen, she found nothing out of the ordinary. She knew that had it been a serious emergency, Kelly would’ve called herself.

Or at least she hoped.

“I’m so proud of you for calling me.” The woman said with a soft voice once Ava had calmed down. Her body relaxed and she lifted her head off of her mom’s shoulder. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“I was just playing with George and then Mama yelled ‘oh no’ and ran upstairs.”

Alex wiped a tear from Ava’s face and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

“Was she hurt?”

“I dunno.” Ava answered, shrugging her little shoulders. “She just looked real sad, and she was crying a bunch.”

“Ok. Well, I’m gonna go check on her.” Alex looked out the window and made eye contact with Kara, who had thankfully switched into her street clothes already, and motioned for her to come inside. “Stay down here with Aunt Kara, ok? I’ll be right back.”

She put her daughter on the ground and made her way up the stairs. When she reached their bedroom door, she knocked gently.

“I’m ok, Ava. I’ll be right down.”

“Kel? It’s me.” Alex waited for permission to come in, but she was met with silence. So she spoke up again. “I’m coming in. Is that ok?”

She barely heard it, but the woman on the other side of the door let out a quiet “yes.” So Alex proceeded to open the door.

When she entered the room and saw her wife laying on the bed in the fetal position her heart broke instantly. She tried to keep her mind from going to that place again, but when your wife is 14 weeks pregnant, it’s nearly impossible to keep that from happening.

Alex walked around to the side of the bed and sat down on the edge near Kelly. She placed a loving hand on her lower back and waited for a moment. She wanted to ask what happened, but she didn’t. The fear of hearing the answer kept the question from escaping her lips. That and the fact that she knew Kelly would talk when she was ready.

After a few minutes of silence the darker woman finally spoke up. The combination of her crying and her face being partially covered by a pillow made it hard to make out what she was saying. Four words came out of her mouth, but Alex only heard the last one.

 _Gone_.

In that moment, Alex swore she felt her heart stop. But before she got the chance to say anything, her wife spoke again.

Kelly shifted, unburying her face from the pillow and looking at Alex.

“They’re gone,” she cried.

Alex was taken aback for a second, but this time it was the first word that caught her attention. Not the last.

“They?”

“Don’t play dumb, Alex.”

The worry slowly subsided and was replaced with confusion.

“I don’t even… wh-” the redhead stuttered. “What the hell is going on, Kelly?”

The smaller woman sat up, using her wife’s arm for support.

“My Oreos. They’re gone,” she sniffed. “Both boxes!”

“Jesus Christ, Kelly. Are you kidding me?!” Alex fell forward, dropping her head into her hands. She’s never breathed a bigger sigh of relief. “You had me scared to death.”

Now Kelly is the one confused. “Why were you scared?”

Alex sat back up and looked into big brown eyes, still red from crying. She reached up and wiped tears from the other woman’s cheek, the same way she had for her daughter a few minutes ago.

“Ava used your phone to call me at work. She told me you were crying and I thought the worst. I had Kara fly me home.”

“Oh, god. Alex, I’m so sorry.” Kelly started to cry again when she realized she had sent both of her girls into a panic.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Alex smiled and leaned in, placing two soft kisses on her wife’s lips. “You and little bean are ok. That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah. It was just one of those days, you know? Nothing was going right at work. I was tired and cranky all day, and when I got home all I wanted was my birthday cake Oreos and jelly beans. You know how that goes.”

Alex nods. “You can’t have one without the other.”

She desperately wanted to comment on how disgusting that was, as she always does, but she’d rather not make Kelly’s bad day worse.

“Exactly. So when I saw that they were gone I got really upset.” Kelly wiped more tears from her face. “Damn hormones.”

Alex couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s not funny! Being pregnant is hard.” The brunette pouted.

“I know, baby. I’m sorry.” She leaned in again and kissed the pout off of the woman’s face. “You’re so good at it though. Just think, only 26 weeks left.”

“They will be the longest 26 weeks of my life I’m sure.”

“Probably,” Alex laughed. “But so worth it.”

The redhead repositioned herself and bent down so she was at eye level with Kelly’s stomach. She lifted her sweater and showered her barely there baby bump with kisses.

As if on cue, Kelly’s stomach started to growl.

“Little bean wants Oreos.” The darker woman told her wife.

“Little bean wants Oreos?” Alex raised an eyebrow at her as sat back up. “Or _you_ want Oreos?”

“Both?”

“Alright,” Alex laughed. “Well I will head to the store and when I get back you will have enough birthday cake Oreos to get you through the next 6 months.”

“And jelly beans?”

“And jelly beans.” The redhead stated as she stood up. “In the meantime, you should probably go talk to Ava. I’m sure she’d like to know you’re ok.”

She reached for Kelly’s hands and helped her out of bed. The two exited the room and made their way down the stairs.

“You know, we still need to discuss the fact that someone ate all of my Oreos.” Kelly thought as they approached the bottom of the staircase.

“It was Ava,” Alex whispered, knowing she’d be much less upset if she knew it was their daughter.

But unfortunately for Alex, her comment didn’t fall on deaf ears.

“That was _you_ , mommy!”

Even the dog had Ava’s back and barked in agreement.

Alex just rolled her eyes. She knew this was a battle she wasn’t going to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for starting this one on such a sad note, but I love a good plot twist. Please don’t hate me!  
> *hides*


	8. Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava comes to a sad realization and needs some reassurance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one ends with a little surprise, and a picture of Ava just to add to the cuteness.

Kelly stood in the kitchen one Friday evening making dinner when the sound of the garage door opening grabbed her attention. It wasn’t long before the little girl standing next to her heard it too and looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

Ava hopped off of her step stool, the same one she always stood on when helping her mothers cook, and ran to the back door. She could hardly stand still as she waited for the door to open, and when it did, she jumped up and threw her hands in the air. George jumped up and down with her and started to bark when she yelled.

“Mommy!”

Alex caught her daughter in her arms the second she stepped through the doorway. She had a feeling this was the reaction she might get after going this long without seeing her daughter.

For the past four days, she had been out of the house before Kelly and Ava were awake and back home after they had both gone to sleep. She would sneak in a few goodnight kisses once she finally made it home and few more before she left the next morning. Director duties had consumed her week, but now that the situation was handled she was home at a decent hour and ready for a relaxing weekend at home with her girls.

Ava’s arms wrapped around her mother’s neck and her tiny legs wrapped around her waist. She held on so tight that Alex was certain she could let go of her daughter and she wouldn’t fall.

“I missed you so much, Mommy.” The little girl mumbled, laying her head on Alex’s shoulder.

“I missed you too, sweetie. So so much.” The redhead squeezed her daughter a little tighter and dropped a few kisses on her cheek.

Kelly’s heart melted as she watched the two of them from a few feet away. She wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up in Alex’s arms too, but she waited patiently knowing she’d get her turn soon enough.

“I missed my koala bear hugs too,” Alex added, gently swaying back and forth.

Ava lifted her head the second she caught her mother’s mistake. “Koalas aren’t bears. They’re m-”

“Marsupials,” Alex finished her sentence. “I know, I know.”

She tickled her daughter as she put her back down on the ground. Ava let out a high-pitched giggle, running back over to continue helping with dinner.

Alex took off her jacket and dropped her keys on the counter, then walked around to greet her wife. When she finally approached Kelly, her eyes went big as she got a closer look at her.

“Well hello there,” Alex said in a husky voice, raising both eyebrows. When the two women were inches away, they both leaned forward for a kiss.

“Hi,” Kelly responded hesitantly to her wife’s greeting. “What was that face for?”

“Nothing. You’ve just… expanded since the last time I saw you,” Alex explained before bending over to kiss Kelly's protruding belly. “Hi, Jellybean.”

Alex regretted her words as soon as she stood upright again and saw the look Kelly was giving her.

“I’ve _expanded_?” The pregnant woman scoffed, placing her hands on her hips for emphasis. “Is that your way of saying I’ve gotten fat?”

Alex thought carefully before she answered that question.

“No! Of course not! Jellybean’s just gotten a little bigger, that’s all.”

“Oh, I’m well aware. I officially can’t see my feet anymore,” Kelly pouted. “I feel like a whale.”

“The most gorgeous whale I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

Kelly rolled her eyes and attempted to respond, but she was cut off by Alex’s lips before she got the chance.

“You are on thin ice, Alex Danvers,” Kelly said, trying to be stern but barely holding back the urge to smile.

“Why?! I called you gorgeous.”

“Yeah, but you called her a whale too,” Ava chimed in as she stepped back up onto her stool.

“Really, Ava? You’re supposed to have my back.” Alex deadpanned. She pretended to be offended as she reached over and tickled the little girl again.

After a few minutes, Alex walked over to the fridge to grab herself a beer, then sat down at the island while her girls finished making dinner.

She was about to ask what they were making when she noticed two empty family-size boxes of Kraft macaroni on the counter.

“Easy Mac for dinner?” she asked.

“Yes, but not just any Easy Mac,” Kelly explained. “This is Ava’s special special gourmet recipe. Right, Bug?”

“Right!” The little girl exclaimed as she dumped more shredded cheese than necessary into the pot of noodles. “We were s’posed to have pizza since it’s movie night but Mama burned it, so she let me cook.”

Kelly stopped what she was doing to give her daughter the side-eye. She had asked her not to bring it up when Alex got home, but leave it to Ava to do the exact opposite.

“ _Again_ , Kel?” Alex laughed. She looked at the magnetic chalkboard stuck to the fridge and sure enough, Kelly’s burnt pizza count had gone up one. The fact that her daughter knew to add a tally mark when Alex wasn’t around to do it herself made her more proud than it probably should have.

“It’s not me!” Kelly defended herself. “The oven is broken, honey. I swear.”

“Sure, just like the toaster was broken,” the redhead murmured under her breath before taking a sip of her beer.

The smartass comment caused Alex to get kicked out of the kitchen until Kelly and Ava were done making dinner, so she decided to go change into her pajamas for their movie night. When she returned to the kitchen, the three of them gathered at the kitchen table and enjoyed their “gourmet” mac and cheese.

As soon as they finished dinner, Kelly and Ava joined Alex in their pj’s and settled on the couch. The little girl crawled onto Kelly’s lap, her go-to spot for movie night, and wiggled herself around as she tried to get comfortable. She started to get frustrated when she realized the growing baby bump was going to make it hard to fit. As she continued to move around, her elbow pressed against Kelly’s stomach, causing the woman to wince slightly.

“Ava, why don’t you sit right here?” Alex suggested when she realized her daughter wasn’t going to fit on Kelly’s lap. The redhead moved over a few inches from where she sat nuzzled in her wife’s side and patted the spot between them.

Ava let out a sigh in defeat before moving to sit between her parents.

Once they all got comfy, they started scrolling through Netflix for a movie. It took them way longer than it should have but they finally decided on Mary Poppins Returns. Alex’s eyes had gotten heavy the second she sat down on the couch, so by the time the movie started she was already halfway asleep.

Kelly was so engrossed in the beginning of the movie she didn’t even notice that her daughter had gotten off the couch. The little girl was about to make her way up the stairs before she realized.

“Ava?” Kelly called out to her, waking Alex from her sleep.

Alex looked around confused, then caught Ava wiping her eyes. “Is she crying? What happened?”

Kelly looked just as confused and shrugged her shoulders in response.

“Ava?” Kelly tried calling for her again, this time a little louder. “Sweetie, come here.”

The little girl didn’t respond. She just covered her ears at the sound of her name being called and ran into her room the second she made it upstairs.

Alex paused the movie and sat upright. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and turned towards her wife.

“What was that about?” Alex questioned.

“I have no idea. She literally just got up without saying a word and went upstairs.”

“Alright, I’ll go talk to her.” Alex said as she stood up.

“I’ll come with you.”

The taller woman helped Kelly off the couch and the two made their way up to their daughter’s room. When George noticed he was being left behind, he darted up the stairs and made it to Ava’s door as Alex and Kelly were still heading up. The little ball of fluff scratched at his tiny owner’s door and waited to be let in. Ava quickly opened the door, cracking it just enough for the dog to wiggle his way in, and slammed it back shut.

When the two women got to the door, Alex knocked and waited for a response. When Ava didn’t say anything she knocked again. The door was locked and the key to open it hung right above the door, but they wanted to give her a chance before just barging in. They were about to knock for a third time when they heard a tiny voice on the other side of the door mumble something neither one of them could quite make out.

“Ava? Can we come in, please?” Alex asked gently.

“You can come in,” Ava told them. “But not Mama.”

Kelly was about to follow Alex into the room before she heard that last part. She let out a hushed “oh” upon learning her daughter didn’t want to talk to her, causing her shoulders to drop a little bit. Hearing those words really stung for some reason. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones that made it worse, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t hurt.

“I’ll just- I’ll wait downstairs.”

“Honey, wait.” Alex said softly before Kelly walked away. She reached up and touched her cheek when she noticed the tears forming in her eyes. “Please don’t cry. I’m sure it’s nothing. You know how she is. The tiniest things set her off sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Kelly gave a sad nod. “Just go talk to her. I’ll be downstairs.”

When Alex let herself in the room, Ava was sitting on her bed with her back against the headboard. George was curled up next to her and she held tight to Cupcake as she cried softly. The woman walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

As soon as she sat down, Ava crawled over and sat down in her lap, still holding tight to her Koala. She started to cry even more as she rested her head on her mother’s chest. Alex rubbed her back and waited patiently for her to calm down before saying anything.

When the sobs finally faded into whimpers Alex spoke up. “What’s going on, Bug? Why are you crying?”

Ava didn’t answer, so Alex tried again.

“Are these sad tears or angry tears?”

Tiny shoulders shrugged in response.

“They’re ‘I don’t know’ tears?” Alex asked, referencing a phrase Kelly made up to help Ava express her feelings at times when she didn’t know why she was sad.

This time Ava shook her head.

“They’re sad tears,” she told her mother.

Alex thought for a second before asking her next question. “Did Mama say or do something that made you feel sad?”

Ava shook her head again but the crying picked back up. Alex tried to piece together what could possibly be going on in her daughter’s head. She didn’t understand why Ava didn’t want Kelly to come in if she hadn’t done anything to upset her.

“Sweetie, I want to help you,” Alex started, “but I need you to try to tell me what’s going on.”

Ava took a deep breath, then tried to explain her frustration.

“There’s no room for me anymore,” she cried.

It broke Alex’s heart to hear those words come out of her mouth.

“Oh Ava” she sighed, shifting her daughter in her lap. “There will always, always, _always_ be room for you. Just because we’re having a baby doesn’t mean that’s going to change.”

“Yes it does. I don’t fit!” Ava sobbed. “I just wanted to sit on Mama’s lap, but I don’t fit anymore. That stupid baby took my spot!”

“Woah woah, hang on.” Alex said trying to keep Ava from getting more worked up. “Look at me.”

The little girl stared blankly ahead with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. The sadness had now become anger.

“Ava,” Alex said calmly.

When her daughter finally looked in her direction, Alex turned her small figure the rest of the way so they were now facing each other.

“Do you remember when we got George? You wanted him to sleep right next to you but you were worried that you wouldn’t have enough room for Cupcake too. But what did we do?” Alex asked. “We made room, didn’t we?”

Ava nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“And you probably don’t remember this, but when we first brought you home, we didn’t have your room ready yet,” Alex continued, “so we made room for you in our bed until yours came. That’s what you do for the people you love, Ava. You make room. The same way we did for Aunt Kara when she was little. We had no idea she was going to come into our lives, but she did, and we made room for her because we loved her.”

When Alex saw the wheels turning in her daughter’s head and the anger slowly melting off of her face, she knew what she said had resonated.

“And we love you too. So, _so_ much.” Alex expressed, putting extra emphasis on the last few words. “That’s never going to change. No matter how many babies we have.”

“Even if you have twenty babies?” Ava asked quietly.

“Whether we have twenty babies or twenty _thousand_ babies, we will still make room for you.” Alex reassured her.

The little girl let out a soft giggle. “That’s a lotta babies.”

“It is,” the woman smiled. “I know it’s frustrating not being able to fit on Mama’s lap the way you used to, but guess what.”

“What?” Ava’s forehead wrinkled as she tried to think.

“Jellybean will be here soon and you won’t have to worry about that big ol’ belly getting in the way anymore. In the meantime though, there’s plenty of room on my lap, ok?”

When Ava smiled back and nodded, the two shared a long, much needed hug. They talked for a few more minutes before Alex suggested that they go back downstairs to finish their movie, even though she was certain they’d all be fast asleep after a few minutes.

Kelly was sitting on the couch with her eyes closed when the sound of footsteps approaching caught her attention.

“Hey,” she smiled as she opened her eyes. “Are we feeling better?”

“I think we’re feeling much better,” Alex assured her as she joined her wife on the couch with Ava in her arms. Once they were sitting, Ava repositioned herself on her mother’s lap so she was facing Kelly and nodded in agreement.

“You wanna tell Mama why you were upset?” Alex asked her.

Ava hung her head and played with the hem of her pajama shirt as she answered quietly. “I was sad because I don’t fit in your lap anymore.”

“Oh sweetie,” Kelly said softly, placing a hand over her heart. “You want to know something?”

Ava looked up hesitantly. “What?”

“I feel the same way.”

“You do?”

“Mhmm,” Kelly nodded back. “Sometimes I want to hold you or cuddle with Mommy, but my big belly makes it kind of difficult to do that. It makes me a little sad, but then I remember it won’t be like that for much longer.”

“That’s exactly right,” Alex nodded, giving her daughter a reassuring squeeze.

Ava didn’t say anything for a second, then looked at Kelly with sad eyes. “Did I hurt your feelings, Mama?”

Kelly started shaking her head before she had even finished the question. “No, baby, of course not. It made me a little sad that you were upset and I didn’t know how to help you, but you didn’t hurt my feelings. I promise.”

Ava tilted her head and then reached out to touch the spot on Kelly’s cheek where her dried tears had left a stain.

“You were crying,” the little girl stated matter-of-factly.

Alex and Kelly both shared a knowing look. Nothing gets past their observant daughter.

“I was, but that’s not your fault. Being pregnant just makes me cry a lot,” the darker woman chuckled.

Ava reached out for Kelly and the woman pulled the little girl in close.

“I’m sorry I didn’t wanna talk to you,” she said quietly, resting her head on Kelly’s chest.

“Don’t apologize for that, sweetheart. What you choose to tell me is completely up to you. There will be times when you want to tell Mommy things and not me, and there will be times where you want to tell me things and not Mommy. There might even be times that you don’t want to talk to either of us. There is nothing wrong with that, ok?”

“Ok,” Ava nodded in response and snuggled deeper into Kelly’s side. “I love you, Mama.”

Kelly bent down and kissed the little girl’s temple. “I love you too, sweet girl.”

Alex pretended to be offended and faked a sad face. “What about me?” She pouted.

Ava giggled and pulled Alex into their hug with her free arm. “I love you too, Mommy.”

After a moment, Ava let her mothers go and placed both of her small hands on Kelly’s stomach.

“And I love you too, Jellybean.” she whispered, her mouth inches away from the round baby bump. “I’m sorry I called you stupid.”

Just then, both Ava and Kelly felt movement. The little girl’s eyes went wide as she looked at her mother excitedly. “Did you feel that?! Jellybean kicked!”

Between the three of them, it was hard to tell whose smile was bigger.

“I did!” Kelly beamed. “That must mean she forgives you.”

Kelly had hardly gotten the whole sentence out before her hand flew up to cover her mouth and her eyes darted toward Alex.

“Wh- Wait a sec. _She_?!”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I’ve said this before, but this one just might be my favorite chapter yet.
> 
> Shout to Nayanna_Rivergron for helping me out with this. :)


	9. Mama Bear (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three times Alex loses her cool, and the one time she doesn't.

Ava has only been in school for three months the first time it happens.

It’s a little past noon on a Wednesday, and Kelly is enjoying her weekly lunch date with Nia in her office. Something they both look forward to every week. They’re in the middle of catching each other up on their busy lives when Kelly’s phone starts to ring.

“Sorry, I have to take this. It’s Ava’s school.”

Nia smiles and nods as Kelly answers her phone.

“Hello?” She greets the person on the other end. “Oh hi, Renee. Is everything alright?”

It’s not uncommon for the school secretary to call, which is why she’s on a first name basis with Kelly and Alex. Once or twice, the phone calls have been a result of Ava getting in trouble, but typically it’s because was overwhelmed or having one of her moments and needed to talk to one of her mothers to calm down. So Kelly assumes she knows where the conversation is going and expects Renee to put her daughter on the phone, but she’s a little thrown off when the conversation goes in a different direction.

“Wait, you mean Ava?” Kelly asks in confusion. “Wh- ok, um, yeah. I’ll just have to stop at home really quick and then I’ll be right there.”

“Is everything ok?” Nia asked, worried by the look on Kelly’s face.

“Yes. Well, kind of.” The darker woman stumbles over her words as she puts the lid on her salad. “I don’t really know to be quite honest. But I’ve gotta run by Ava’s school. Alex is in the principal's office.”

“You mean Ava?”

“Sadly, no,” Kelly sighs. “Ava is in the nurse's office with a bloody nose, and Alex, my _adult_ wife, is in the principal’s office. How she managed to get herself in trouble is beyond me, but I guess I will find out shortly.”

Nia isn’t sure whether to be humored by the exasperated look on her friend’s face or be concerned about the child.

“Well I hope Ava’s alright.” She figured it would be safest to take the concerned route. “I hate to say it, but knowing Alex, she’s _probably_ in the principal's office for trying to fight whoever gave Ava a bloody nose.”

“I don’t want to assume anything, but I think you might be right,” Kelly says as she stands, walking to her desk to grab her purse. “I’m sorry to cut our lunch date short but-”

“No, it’s totally fine,” Nia cuts her off. “Go bail your wife out. I’ll clean all this up.”

Kelly leaves work in a hurry and stops by the house. She grabs a change of clothes for Ava as she was asked, then makes her way to her daughter’s school. When she walks in, she heads into the office and finds Renee smiling back at her.

“Hi, Kelly. Thanks for coming so quickly.”

“No problem. What happened exactly?” Kelly asks, trying her best not to worry.

“I’m still waiting on the incident report from her gym teacher, but basically Ava was hit in the face with a kickball during gym and got a bloody nose. We have it written here to call Alex first since she works a little closer, so I did. Once I got ahold of her, I began to explain that Ava had been hit in the face and, well…”

The young woman started to trail off but Kelly already had an idea of what probably happened next.

“She didn’t let you finish, did she?”

“Right. She heard me say that Ava was hit and hung up. She got here maybe two minutes later, which, I must say, is record time. When she came in she was pretty heated and demanded to talk to Ava’s teacher. I tried to reassure her that everything was fine and explain what happened but she didn’t really want to hear what I had to say.”

Kelly sighs, shaking her head as she continues to listen.

“And then, unfortunately, Mr. Chambers happened to walk in right as she was threatening to hurt the kid who hit Ava. Which is why I called you. I’m sorry for asking you to come, but Ava had blood all over her clothes and your wife hung up before I got the chance to ask her to bring a change of clothes.”

“No, please don’t apologize. I’m glad you called.” Kelly gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry that she reacted like that and snapped at you. She means well, I promise. She just tends to overreact at times and can be a bit much when she goes into mama bear mode. She’s extremely protective when it comes to Ava.”

“Oh I completely understand. We’ve had parents come in here and act far worse, so it’s all good,” the secretary chuckled. “Would you like to see Ava, or did you want to join your wife in Mr. Chambers’ office?”

“I’d like to see go see Ava first if that’s ok. Whatever lecture Alex is getting right now she definitely deserves.”

They both laugh at the comment as Kelly signs in and gets a visitors badge, then Renee points her toward the nurses office.

When she walks in, Ava is sitting down with a small bag of ice on her face. It’s slightly covering her eyes, so the little girl hears her mother before she sees her.

“Ava,” Kelly says gently, mindful of the sleeping student a few feet away from them. “Hi, sweet pea.”

Ava smiles at her mother’s voice behind the bag of ice and utters a muffled hello. Kelly bends over to kiss her forehead and then squats down so she’s at eye level with her daughter. She examines Ava’s face as the nurse gives her an update.

“Her nose bled quite a bit for about ten minutes, but we finally got it to stop a few minutes ago. We’ve got the ice on it to help with the swelling but there isn’t any serious damage,” the older woman informs her. “It wouldn’t hurt to pay her doctor a visit though, just incase.”

Kelly nods and reaches for the little girl’s face. “Let me see, Bug.”

Ava lifts the ice and Kelly instantly grimaces at the site of the bruising. She really hoped it looked worse than it actually was. “Does it hurt, sweetie?”

“Not really. I didn’t even cry, Mama.”

Kelly smiles, feeling much better knowing her little girl wasn’t in pain.

“Was this an accident or did someone throw the ball at you on purpose?” Kelly asks, moving to sit down in the chair next to Ava. She figured it was an accident but knowing how cruel kids can be she wanted to be sure. She also wanted to give Alex the benefit of the doubt, just incase she had a legitimate reason to have snapped earlier.

“We were playin’ kickball and Logan kicked the ball up high in the air and it hit me when I tried to catch it. But after it bounced off my face I still catched it and my team won!”

“My little champ,” Kelly laughs.

The nurse laughs along with her and then asks if she’ll be taking Ava home. The little girl tells her mother that she wants to stay for art class but Kelly explains to her that it would probably be best to go home for the day. Ava pouts as she goes to change her clothes, but she’s over it as soon as she realizes she’ll probably be spoiled with ice cream and junk food if she goes home.

Before leaving, they stop back in office to get a copy of the incident report and sign out. Kelly had completely forgotten about Alex until she sees her walking out of the principal’s office.

“Kelly? What are you doing here?” Alex asks when she spots her wife. She doesn’t see Ava standing next to her until she walks around the front desk. Her question momentarily falls by the wayside as her attention immediately goes to their daughter.

“Oh, sweetie,” she says in a sad tone when she sees the growing bruise on her daughter’s face. She squats down and reaches her arms out for the little girl. “Come here. Let me look at your face.”

Ava walks over to her and Alex gently lifts her chin to get a better look. “Oh man. Look at that shiner,” the redhead winces. “I bet you took it like a champ though.”

“I didn’t even cry, Mommy,” Ava tells her proudly.

Alex smiles, lifting Ava into her arms as she stood up. When they’re done having their little moment, Kelly walks closer to them to answer the question she was asked before Alex was distracted by their daughter's injury.

“I came to bring Ava a change of clothes.” Kelly tells her as they make their way out of the building together. “Renee called me shortly after you hung up on her.”

“Yeah... about that.”

“We’ll talk about it later," Kelly says, giving Alex a look she's seen plenty of times before. "Right now, I think we need to go get this little one some ice cream for being such a trooper today."

"Yay!" Ava exclaims as Alex sets her back on the ground. 

When they reach Kelly's car, she unlocks the door and Alex helps her into her booster seat.

"Are you gonna join us or do you have to get back to work?" Kelly asks her wife.

"I've gotta go back to work but I have time for ice cream first," she smiles and shuts the door to the backseat.

"You can come with us, but no ice cream for you," Kelly teases, leaning forward to kiss Alex on the lips. "You were sent to the principal's office today. We don't reward bad behavior in this family."

"Very funny," Alex deadpans.

She ends up riding with Kelly and Ava after remembering that she snuck a lift to the school from Kara. They enjoy their quick ice cream date before Alex has to head back to work and Kelly takes Ava home, cancelling her clients for the rest of the day.

Later that night they revisit what had happened earlier, as promised. They have long conversation about jumping to conclusions and remaining level headed, even in the most stressful and frustrating situations.

“I don’t blame you for wanting to hurt anyone who causes Ava any type of harm. Trust me, I wanted to punt kick that little snotty-nosed kid who called her stupid and made her cry on her first day of school.” Kelly tells her wife as they laid in bed. “But you can’t let your emotions get the best of you like that. Overreacting only makes the situation worse. You just have to take deep breaths and think before you act.”

“I know, I know,” Alex replies, pulling kelly into her side. She rolls over and plants a kiss on her lips. “It won’t happen again.”

Only it does happen again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for part two!


End file.
